SPOKANE, Wash. — The trial for the former Pasco Police officer accused of killing a sex worker in Spokane nearly 40 years ago kicked off Wednesday.
This will be the second time Richard Aguirre sat in a Spokane County courtroom accused of murder. The first time was in 2021 but was declared a mistrial. Now, prosecutors are pursuing a re-trial for the murder of Ruby Doss, only this time without a jury.
Richard Aguirre is accused of killing Ruby Doss in 1986 near the old Payfair track in Spokane. He waived his right to a jury trial, which means the judge will decide the verdict instead of a jury.
Prosecutors are seeking a guilty verdict for either first or second-degree murder. The prosecutor gave the first opening statement. He argued the DNA from a condom found at the crime scene near the victim's body matches Aguirre's.
“You’re going to hear how the contents of that condom preserved through time with the evolution of DNA technology. To the point where an upload of the DNA profile was finally possible in 2002,” said Spokane County prosecutor, Rich Whaley.
They hope this and other evidence presented to the judge will lead to a guilty verdict.
"..admitting to friends—she was alive when I left," the prosecutor said.
But Aguirre’s defense attorney claims the DNA from that condom was mishandled and cross-contaminated.
“The only way Ms. Doss’s DNA could have appeared on that condom bag was through cross-contamination. That evidence was not presented at the first trial,” Defense Attorney, Karen Lindholdt said.
The defense also argues Aguirre’s DNA was not found anywhere on Doss. They believe this implies he had nothing to do with the strangulation that killed her.
Instead, they say there is evidence that suggests Doss’s pimp may be involved in her death.
Prosecutors called one of Doss's daughters to the witness stand first. During Laquisa Doss’s testimony, prosecutors presented a photo of her mother at the age of 16.
"It's really hard...but our mother was a mother," Ruby Doss’s daughter, Laquisa Doss said.
This is the first time we’ve seen or heard from any family of Doss. That’s because none of them attended the first trial in 2021. Wednesday all four of her daughters were in the courtroom.
The day concluded after testimony from officers who responded to the scene and from the lead detective.
Spokane County Prosecutor Larry Haskell is trying this case with Rich Whaley. To give some perspective, this doesn’t happen very often as Haskell is typically seen only on major, high-profile cases.
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